Angaben zur Quelle [Bearbeiten]
| Autor | Daniel Ritz |
| Titel | The start-up of an EDI network - A comparative case study in the air cargo industry |
| Jahr | 1995 |
| Anmerkung | Dissertation der Hochschule St. Gallen; Dissertation Nr. 1675 |
Literaturverz. |
yes |
| Fußnoten | yes |
| Fragmente | 6 |
| [1.] Svr/Fragment 003 04 - Diskussion Zuletzt bearbeitet: 2020-01-25 14:04:15 Schumann | Fragment, Gesichtet, Ritz 1995, SMWFragment, Schutzlevel sysop, Svr, Verschleierung |
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| Untersuchte Arbeit: Seite: 3, Zeilen: 4-8, 21-23, 28-29 |
Quelle: Ritz 1995 Seite(n): 1, 6, 7, Zeilen: 1: 28 ff.; 6: last 2 lines; 7: 7 f. |
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| 0.2. Motivation for Research
Companies that trade electronically with their business partners are said to enjoy strategic benefits such as a higher responsiveness to customers resulting from the higher speed of internal processing, and an optimization of inter-organizational business processes through electronic integration with customers and suppliers. [...] 0.3. Research Objectives and Target Audience The overall objective of the research is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of the XML standard and its applications, in particular XML/EDI, [as well as to develop a framework for the assessment of the value of an XML/EDI investment project.] [...] The target audiences of the thesis are academic scholars as well as business practitioners. |
[page 1]
Moreover, companies that trade electronically with their business partners are said to enjoy strategic benefits such as a higher responsiveness to customers, resulting from the higher speed of internal processing, and an optimization of interorganizational business processes through electronic integration with customers and suppliers (e.g. Kimberley 1991). [page 6] 0.3 Research objectives and target audience Against that backdrop, the overall objective of the present study is to contribute to the theoretical and practical understanding of EDI network start-up by: [...] [page 7] The target audience of the thesis are academic scholars as well as business practitioners. Kimberley, P. (1991) Electronic data interchange. New York, etc.: Mc Graw Hill, 1991. |
No source is given. |
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| [2.] Svr/Fragment 033 01 - Diskussion Zuletzt bearbeitet: 2020-01-25 14:16:31 Schumann | Fragment, Gesichtet, Ritz 1995, SMWFragment, Schutzlevel sysop, Svr, Verschleierung |
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| Untersuchte Arbeit: Seite: 33, Zeilen: 1-3 |
Quelle: Ritz 1995 Seite(n): 12, Zeilen: last 3 lines |
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| EDI has evolved from bilateral, individually negotiated agreements between pairs of two trading partners (e.g. a buyer and a seller engaged in an ongoing business relationship), to multilateral. | Historically, EDI has evolved from bilateral, individually negotiated agreements between pairs of two trading partners, e.g. a buyer and a seller engaged in an ongoing business relationship, about how to coordinate the exchange of trade documents. |
No source is given. |
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| [3.] Svr/Fragment 038 01 - Diskussion Zuletzt bearbeitet: 2020-05-21 15:55:26 WiseWoman | BauernOpfer, Fragment, Gesichtet, Ritz 1995, SMWFragment, Schutzlevel sysop, Svr |
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| Untersuchte Arbeit: Seite: 38, Zeilen: 1-6, 10-23, 28-32 |
Quelle: Ritz 1995 Seite(n): 51, 52, 53, Zeilen: 51: 7 ff.; 52: 1, 13 ff.; 53: 1 ff. |
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| 3.1.5 Cost of setting up and [sic] EDI network
Because of the organizational gap, and EDI network cannot start right away, but requires an initiative to be launched to close the gap. The first contributors to the collective action, i.e. the initiators of an EDI network, do not only have to plan, design, and implement the required techno-organizational infrastructure and the related services, but they also have to bear the associated costs. [There are different cost categories such as: (1) Coordination costs of a new network, (2) Implementation costs of a new network, (3) Individual expenses, and (4) Opportunity costs (Ritz 1995: 51-52).] The set-up process of a coordination and a subsequent implementation stage. During the coordination stage, the network's future characteristics are determined, and plans to implement the specified conception are drawn up. The subsequent implementation of the network infrastructure yields even higher costs for the organizations involved in the collective action at that stage. Infrastructure investments foremost include the direct capital cost of acquiring the systems hard- and software, the highering of staff to operate and market it, the provision of facilities to house the system, etc. Moreover, the cost of establishing an intermediary organization may also be subsumed under this heading. Depending on the scope of this project and the situation at the outset in terms of pre-existing technical infrastructure and standards, the implementation of the network infrastructure may entail altogether substantial costs to the initiators. Some of these investments may actually represent sunk costs that display asset-specificity. [...] Beside the cost of implementing of the communication infrastructure, initial contributors to the collective action will have to carry the individual expenses of joining the network as participants. Usually, an organization that decides to participate in an EDI network needs to invest in its internal hard- and software, e.g. by purchasing converter software and by adapting business applications to the [communication requirements of the clearing center.] Ritz, D. 1995, The start-up of an EDI Network: A comparative case study for the air cargo industry, Dissertation, Hochschule für Wissenschaft-, Recht- u. Sozialwissenschften [sic] St. Gallen. |
[page 51]
2.3.2 The cost of setting up an EDI network It has been shown earlier17 that because of the organizational gap, an EDI network cannot start right away, but requires an initiative to be launched to close that gap. The first contributors to the collective action, i.e. the initiators of an EDI network, do not only have to plan, design, and implement the required techno-organizational infrastructure and the related services, but they also have to bear the associated costs. Cost categories As mentioned earlier, the set-up process of an EDI network encompasses a coordination and a subsequent implementation stage. During the coordination stage, the network's future characteristics are determined, and plans to implement the specified 17See chapter A 1.2. [page 52] conception are drawn up. [...] The subsequent implementation of the network infrastructure yields even higher costs for the organizations involved in the collective action at that stage. Infrastructure investments foremost include the direct capital cost of acquiring the system's hard- and software, the hiring of staff to operate and market it, the provision of facilities to house the system, etc. Moreover, the cost of establishing an intermediary organization may also be subsumed under this heading. Depending on the scope of the project and the situation at the outset in terms of pre-existing technical infrastructures and standards, the implementation of the network infrastructure may entail altogether substantial costs to the initiators.18 Some of these investments may actually represent sunk costs19 that display asset-specificity, i.e. "nontrivial investments in transaction-specific assets." (Williamson 1985, pp. 30). Besides the costs related to the implementation of the common infrastructure, initial contributors to the collective action additionally have to carry the individual expenses of joining the network as participants, if applicable.20 Usually, an organiza- 18The direct capital cost for developing the technical infrastructure of Singapore's TradeNet, for instance, amounted to more than $20 million. This sum does not include the investment made by the involved governmental bodies in conceiving the project, managing the development, or establishing Singapore Network Services (SNS) as intermediary organization (King and Konsynski 1990). 19For a discussion of sunk cost from an accountancy perspective, see e.g. Luther (1992). Rosenbaum (1992) provides an economic analysis of entry, barriers, exit, and sunk costs. 20This applies primarily to community members as initiators. A third-party service provider leading an EDI initiative, on the other hand, will obviously not join the network as a participant. Its role in the diffusion stage will thus be limited to acting as an intermediary. [page 53] tion that decides to participate in an EDI network needs to invest in its internal hard- and software systems, e.g. by purchasing converter software and by adapting business applications to the communications requirements of the clearing center. King, J.L. and Konsynski, B. (1990) Singapore TradeNet. A tale of one city, Nl-191-009, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, 1990. Luther, R.G. (1992) Fixed costs and sunk costs in decision-making, in: Management Accounting, Vol. 70, 1992, pp. 37, 42. Rosenbaum, D. I. (1992) Entry, barriers, exit, and sunk costs. An analysis, in: Applied Economics, Vol. 24, 1992, pp. 297-304. Williamson, O.E. (1975) Markets and hierarchies. Analysis and antitrust implications, London, 1975. |
The source is given, but it is not made clear that the text is so closely and extensively copied. |
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| Untersuchte Arbeit: Seite: 39, Zeilen: 1-3, 5-32 |
Quelle: Ritz 1995 Seite(n): 53, 54, Zeilen: 53: 3 ff.; 54: 1 ff. |
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| At an organization level, internal business processes may have to be re-shaped in order to be able to interface with trading partners and to reap the full benefits from electronic trading. [Also, retraining of employees are affected by innovations. (Ritz 1995: 52-53).]
Last but not least, opportunity costs also have to be mentioned in this context. Those arise from the uncertainties associated with the collective action of establishing and EDI network. Should EDI initiative fail for the lack of attracting sufficient participants, investments in the joint infrastructure will be al least partly be sunk costs. Furthermore the giving up of established forms of trade data exchange when joining an EDI network also yields opportunity costs from the perspective of an individual participant (Ritz 1995: 53). Risk of Sunk Costs: A very large proportion of the investments in the joint infrastructure outlined above have to be made up-front. Coordination costs arising during the process of determining the network's future characteristics and planning it's implementation. Hard- and software systems have to be acquired and installed before trial operations may begin. Intermediary organizations need to be founded and incorporated before the diffusion process starts. Once the network infrastructure is established, the marginal cost of adding trading partners is comparably low from an initiator's perspective. The reason is that the infrastructure represents fixed costs. Increasing trading volume augments total costs only slightly. As a consequence, unit cost per transaction falls, leading to significant cost based economics of scale. The danger of competing EDI initiatives superseding a focal network is very high at that early stage, and so are the related opportunity costs. The reason is the inherent uncertainty of whether a sufficiently large number of network participants will be attracted to guarantee the success of the collective action. As the number of network participants increases, i.e. as the point of critical mass is being approached, the risk of failure decreases. This leads to a stabilization of expectations among community members, which in turn attracts additional participants and enables the self-sustained growth of an EDI network. For the same set of reasons, the opportunity cost of an individual organization, that has to give up and established platform of trading partner communication, are high at that early stage (Ritz 1995:53-54). Ritz, D. 1995, The start-up of an EDI Network: A comparative case study for the air cargo industry, Dissertation, Hochschule für Wissenschaft-, Recht- u. Sozialwissenschften [sic] St. Gallen. |
At an organizational level, internal business processes may have to be re-shaped in order to be able to interface with trading partners and to reap the full benefits from electronic trading. [...]
Last but not least, opportunity costs also have to be mentioned in this context. Those arise from the uncertainties associated with the collective action of establishing an EDI network. Should an EDI initiative fail for the lack of attracting sufficient participants, either because the design was not accepted by community members, or because it was superseded by a rivalling solution, investments in the joint infrastructure will at least partly be in vain. Furthermore, the giving up of established forms of trade data exchange when joining an EDI network also yields opportunity costs from the perspective of an individual participant (Monse and Reimers 1993). Arising costs in a temporal perspective A very large proportion of the investments in the joint infrastructure outlined above have to be made up-front. Coordination costs arise during the process of determining the network's future characteristics and planning its implementation; hard- and software systems have to be acquired and installed before trial operations may begin; intermediary organizations need to be founded and incorporated before the diffusion process starts, etc. Once the network infrastructure is established, however, the marginal cost of adding trading partners is comparably low from an initiator's perspective. The reason is that the infrastructure represents fixed costs. Increasing transaction volume augments total costs only slightly. As a consequence, unit cost per transaction falls, leading to significant cost-based economies of scale (see also Sheldon 1993). The danger of competing EDI initiatives superseding a focal network is very high at that early stage, and so are the related opportunity costs. The reason is the inherent uncertainty of whether a sufficiently large number of network participants will be attracted to guarantee the success of the collective action. As the number of network [page 54] participants increases, i.e. as the point of critical mass is being approached, the risk of failure decreases. This leads to a stabilization of expectations among community members, which in turn attracts additional participants and enables the self-sustained growth of an EDI network (Schneider 1993).21 For the same set of reasons the opportunity costs of an individual organization, which has to give up an established pattern of trading partner communication, are high at that early stage, too. Monse, K. and Reimers, K. (1993) The development of electronic data interchange networks from an institutional perspective, Paper presented at the EDI/IONS PICT-COST Workshop, Edinburgh, April 15-16, 1993. Schneider, V. (1993) Networks and games in large technical systems. The case of Videotex, in: Scharpf, F.W. (ed.) Games in hierarchies and networks. Analytical and empirical approaches to the study of governance institutions, Frankfurt/M.: Campus, 1993, pp. 251-286. Sheldon, P. (1993) Destination information systems, in: Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 20, 1993, pp. 633-649. |
The source is given twice, but it is not made clear that the text is so closely and extensively copied. |
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| Untersuchte Arbeit: Seite: 40, Zeilen: 4-8 |
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| In contrast to the cost of setting up an EDI network, which is predominantly arises upfront, economic benefits start to occur only during the diffusion stage. The reason is that all three categories of benefits described below are positively related to the size of an EDI network in terms of subscribers (Ritz 1995: 55).
Ritz, D. 1995, The start-up of an EDI Network: A comparative case study for the air cargo industry, Dissertation, Hochschule für Wissenschaft-, Recht- u. Sozialwissenschften [sic] St. Gallen. |
In contrast to the cost of setting up an EDI network, which predominantly arises upfront, economic benefits start to accrue only during the diffusion stage. The reason is that all three categories of benefits described above are positively related to the size of an EDI network in terms of subscribers. |
The source is given, but without quotation marks. |
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| [6.] Svr/Fragment 110 02 - Diskussion Zuletzt bearbeitet: 2020-01-25 16:44:56 Schumann | Fragment, Gesichtet, Ritz 1995, SMWFragment, Schutzlevel sysop, Svr, Verschleierung |
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| Electronic Data Interchange has been used for over 30 Years and represents a particular class of inter-organizational systems that automate routine tasks in the context of trading partner communication by replacing physical mailing or transportation with electronic transportation. | Electronic data interchange (EDI) represents a particular class of interorganizational systems that automate routine tasks in the context of trading partner communication by replacing the mailing or transportation of business documents with the electronic communication of that information (Swatman and Swatman 1992).
Swatman, P.M.C. and Swatman, P.A. (1992) EDI system integration. A definition and literature survey, in: The Information Science, Vol. 8, 1992, pp. 169-205. |
No source is given. |
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